10 thoughts on NXT – Shinsuke Nakamura, TM61, Ember Moon

1. It’s NXT time and we are kicking off with Australia’s own TM61 taking on Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, fresh from the Cruiserweight Classic. It’s great to see a couple of CWC guys in NXT, and I hope Nese and Daivari won’t be the last.

2. Nice back and forth between the two teams, until Shane Thorn hits an insane plancha that lands him almost half way up the entrance ramp. Nese fights back and hits some solid power moves as he and Daivari wear down Thorn. After a long heat sequence Nick Miller gets the hot tag and hits a bunch of elbows and clotheslines, which seems to be his thing.

3. After the CWC team almost pick up the victory with a sweet superkick/sitout slam/frog splash combo, TM61 earn a hard fought victory with the Thunder Valley. Nice to see Thorn and Miller get a win for once.

4. And now it’s time for an interview with Asuka, which is always going to be a bit of a challenge. Not terrible by any means, but talking really isn’t going to be what gets Asuka over.

5. Next up Ember Moon takes on Leah Von, but we have to suffer through a Steve Cutler promo, and he just wants respect. Good luck with that, goober.

6. Moon and Von have a decent if somewhat basic match, with Ember displaying a couple of impressive moves and Leah selling like an 80s jobber. Moon wins with the top rope stunner after Von waits for it for like 10 seconds. Good potential here.

7. No Way Jose says that Bobby Roode is not glorious, and Jose shouldn’t be messed with. And I don’t care that much, to be honest. On the upside, the always reliable Austin Aries takes on Cien Almas, now wearing a fairly horrible t-shirt rather than his signature hat and braces. As usual Aries makes both himself and his opponent look good, with Almas having a chance to show off more of his high flying skills. Aries picks up the submission victory with the Last Chancery.

8. Our main event tonight is NXT champ Shinsuke Nakamura taking on man with sideburns Steve Cutler, and Samoa Joe joins the commentary team because he has the best words.

9. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Nakamura kicks seven shades of shit out of Cutler, gives him a brief hope spot for fun, then hits the Kinchasa for the win. After the match Joe walks out rather than attacking Nakamura, which is a nice change from WWE predictability.

10. A return to form for NXT after last week’s B-list show. Great to see some CWC competitors join the party and development of multiple storylines including the compelling rise of Steve Cutler. Just kidding about that last bit…